From the Styx by Peggy Tibbetts

Bipartisan Victory in the House

The broad, nonpartisan movement for Internet freedom notched a major victory [on May 25], when a bipartisan majority of the House Judiciary Committee passed the “Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006″ — a bill that offers meaningful protections for Network Neutrality, “the First Amendment of the Internet.”20 members of the Commitee (6 Republicans and 14 Democrats) voted for the bipartisan Bill, and only 13 against.

Today’s vote would have been unthinkable three weeks ago. It shows that the politicians are listening to the vast number of citizens who don’t want the Internet to become the private domain of the cable and telephone monopolies. Today’s vote is a milestone for the fast-growing movement to protect the public interest and defend Internet freedom.

In other good news, our petition drive today surpassed 750,000 signatures, as many of you flooded Congress with calls and letters …

Either Congress is actually listening to the people on this issue – or there’s something in Internet neutrality for them.

No matter what, if you haven’t signed the petition yet – ACT NOW!

Click here to add From the Styx to your RSS reader.

U.S. scrubs big ‘Divine Strake’ test blast
LAS VEGAS, May 30 (UPI) — A huge conventional-explosives test blast known as Divine Strake has been postponed indefinitely by U.S. officials.The National Nuclear Security Administration announced Friday that next month’s event at the Nevada Test Site would be put on hold so that further environmental studies could be carried out …

We can all breathe a gi-normous sigh of relief. For now …

Let’s just hope they’re not waiting for the furor to die down and then sneak a test blast when nobody’s looking.

Click here to add From the Styx to your RSS reader.

Breaking news! The railroad crossing is dangerous. Burning Mountains Fire Department blames evil combination of steel rails and wood ties for fire truck/train accident. 

Railroad crossing unsafe, report concludes
by Heidi Rice

SILT - The railroad crossing between Silt and New Castle is dangerous.

And a remedy to make the crossing safer could be years in the works, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.

The crossing was deemed unsafe in one of the conclusions submitted by Burning Mountains Fire Protection District Fire Chief Brit McLin in a report to the fire district board Tuesday night.

The report to the board followed an accident involving a Burning Mountains firetruck and a Burlington-Northern freight train on March 25 at the crossing at the frontage road and U.S Highway 6, just east of Coal Ridge High School.

A 20-year-old volunteer firefighter, Austin Coryell, was giving a ride to Angela and Ryan Grant and their 3-year-old son, Jordon, all of Silt, in a community service effort to show the child the truck’s lights and sirens …

… Coryell was cited for careless driving.

Independent study

An independent study was solicited and conducted in early April by Deputy Fire Chief Orrin Moon of the Aspen Volunteer Fire Department to look at possible causes of the accident.

In Moon’s report, he states that the sunny day could have made it difficult to see the flashing red lights warning of the oncoming eastbound train and that the railroad visibility from the west was poor. Interstate 70 traffic noise would also make it difficult to hear warning bells or horns.

“A vehicle that is rolling down from the high point of the bridge to the railroad crossing cannot see a train until the train is about 1,100 feet away or 14 seconds from the intersection, if the train was traveling 55 mph,” Moon wrote in his report. “The only place you can see to the west more than 1,100 feet is when you are within 17 feet of the center line of the train tracks” …

… McLin said he “absolutely” believes the railroad crossing off the frontage road and east of Coal Ridge High School is unsafe.

“There have been three accidents there in which drivers reported not seeing the train that hit them,” he wrote in his report to the board. “There have been several other near misses” …

… “I really believe there will be another accident at this crossing,” he said. “It’s not an ‘if’ there’s an another accident - it’s a ‘when’. From the point of first visual contact, a (large vehicle) does not have time to get across” …

… Coryell, the driver of the firetruck, is still a volunteer member of the Burning Mountains Fire Protection District and is actively participating in ongoing training. No disciplinary action is being taken against him.

McLin himself, who was criticized by some for allowing Coryell to take the truck, is completely supported by the board of directors …

… The district is, however, responsible for an estimated $17,000 in damages to the train’s engines and a switchbox at the crossing, which was struck in the accident. The firetruck itself, worth about $212,000, was deemed a total loss. The insurance company was able to salvage $10,000 in the sale of parts from the truck and the district was issued a check for the loss by the insurance company for about $211,000, McLin said.

Holy crap! Mothers, hide your babes. We have a railroad crossing run amuck. Trains are appearing out of nowhere, jumping onto the tracks, destroying vehicles – and scaring people. This railroad crossing is an evil menace. It’s time to declare war on trains.

I still find it laughable that no one in the fire truck heard (or saw) the train. A couple days ago when I was talking on the phone to my friend Meg, she could hear the train through the telephone. My office door was open. So gimme a break.

And apparently no one involved with this “independent study” bothered to consult the Colorado Driver Handbook, which states on page 23:

12.2 RAILROAD CROSSING
When approaching a railroad crossing, be cautious because a train can arrive at any time, day, or night. Obey all warning devices, lights, gates, and signs. Do not drive onto a crossing until you are sure the tracks are clear, especially when there are multiple tracks. There may be a second train. Do not misjudge the train’s speed and distance. Because of its large size, a train appears to be moving much slower than you think. The average freight train traveling at 55 mph requires approximately one mile to stop. Trains can not stop, you can.

WARNING DEVICES

ADVANCE WARNING SIGNS: A railroad crossing is ahead. The warning sign is located at a sufficient distance to allow you to stop (if necessary) before reaching the crossing.
PAVEMENT MARKINGS: Consists of an R X R and a stop line and may be painted on the pavement in front of a crossing. Always stay behind the painted stop line while waiting for a passing train.
CROSSBUCK SIGNS: These signs should be treated the same as a yield sign. If there is more than one track, a sign below the Crossbuck indicates the number of tracks at this crossing.

Newsflash:
ALL railroad crossings are dangerous! Proceed with caution.  

The results of this study are both disappointing and sad.

Disappointing, because no one is accepting responsibility for the accident. That railroad crossing has been there forever. The entire incident – from ferrying civilians around the countryside in a fire truck to Austin Coryell’s inattentive driving – represents a breathtaking display of bad judgment all the way around. But no one is admitting that.

I’m not out for blood. I don’t think Coryell should go to jail. But I do think he should resign from Burning Mountains Fire Department.

This is sad because the public deserves more than a whitewash. We deserve a real investigation. We deserve the facts. We deserve the truth. 

Click here to add From the Styx to your RSS reader.

When it was my turn at last Monday night’s Board of Trustees meeting (08 May), I spoke about the last time a name change was brought up in Silt, back in 1992. My neighbor Eva Diaz gave me a photo of a sign made by the group against the name change. Their slogan was “Silt Always”. I told the board that I felt that slogan was a message from the past to those of us in the future. Many of the people who built Silt are no longer with us but they left us a simple message – Silt Always.
 
In that same vein, Mayor Dave Moore sent me an email about a woman who grew up in Silt. She wrote to him to tell him how she feels. Mayor Moore wrote:

I received a letter from a lady named Mrs. Irene Learn who is not 86 years old and lives in Grand Junction. She gave me some of her history as a native in Silt, and wanted me to pass on this poem to you. 

Her Dad was one of the first blacksmiths in Colorado and they moved here in 1919. She would rather that the name of Silt not be changed. She was so sweet and kind.

She was raised in Silt “and proud of it”. Her dad was post master for 30 years. Her Dad had 3 sons who were in active service, as might be reflected in the poem.

She goes on to say that “I have had a grand life there”. She felt that “we would like to hear memories from the past from someone raised in Silt”.

This is the poem written by Irene Larson’s father:

Your Town and Mine  
by John William Anson

Out where the Rockies in solemn tower
Beneath the western skies
Out where the Colorado River winds its way toward the west
Nestling in a verdant valley is the town I love best.

Just a friendly little village, from the earth it got its name
Silt, we call it fertile valley, yes a queen by any name.
And like a queen she is waiting, keeping her rendezvous
Pride in her strength and courage and rich in her soldier sons.

Tonight little town in the mountains
One wish I would make just for you
May God in his infinite mercy
Bring back your sons safe to you.

This poem speaks to me of patriotism and love of nature. For what is country but the land you live on, the environment surrounding you, and your family. For me it’s all the same – whether it’s defending Silt’s good name or protecting our water and air quality from pollution by gas well drilling – we are preserving this beautiful place for future generations.

Click here to add From the Styx to your RSS reader.

I’ve been thinking about the Salon.com article EPA to citizens: Frack you. It doesn’t really surprise me that the impact of gas well drilling in the Rockies is getting some national attention. A lot of shit has gone down over the past 3 months, most of which I’ve covered here. Problem is, it’s not easy to find information. 

In my February 23 blog entry As Silt Seeps, I told the story about the 2004 West Divide Creek seep, for which Encana was fined $371,000. A New West article covered the recent Encana fines (which I covered Monday in my Back to the Future Update). The writer also revisited the West Divide Creek seep issue.

Gas and Water Mix in Colorado’s Gas Patch
By David Frey

When natural gas wells started popping up amid western Colorado ranches, industry officials assured residents their water wells would be safe. Residents soon found out differently, and on Monday, a state hearing showed just how differently …

… Meanwhile, EnCana and another company, Bill Barrett Corp., had planned to ask the OGCC for permission to drill within a moratorium area, but at the last minute, the two companies withdrew their request.

Why? Well tests within the moratorium area showed pressure problems, said Director Brian Macke. That suggested that the highly-fractured underground rock layers are making it hard for energy companies to case the wells with cement and prevent gas from escaping into the groundwater.

At the same meeting, the OGCC unveiled a new study of the area south of Silt and Rifle that backs up those findings. The study of the underground geology and groundwater in the region found that the area’s unusual geology could make it easier for natural gas to enter neighbors’ water wells.

In one case, the study said, a well was capped in 1994 after leaking to the surface for nearly 30 years.

The findings backed the concerns of landowners and environmentalists who have worried that the gas industry is threatening well water in the area …

… Two years later, the seep is still bubbling, said landowner Pepi Langegger, and the place is still too dangerous to drill.

“They have the right to access the minerals under our land, but not at any cost,” he said.

After the seep was discovered, OGCC barred EnCana from drilling within a three-mile area, but it later allowed Barrett to drill. On Monday, Barrett planned to seek permission to drill more wells, and EnCana planned to ask commissioners to lift the moratorium altogether …

Oh Encana. Your wish is the wiley old Fox’s (COGCC) command. On April 24, the moratorium on drilling in the West Divide Creek seep area was lifted, without regard for the findings of the study on geologic sensitivity.

COGCC lifts drilling moratorium south of Silt
by Donna Gray

EnCana Oil and Gas (USA) will be allowed to drill for natural gas within a two-mile moratorium area around a gas seep near Silt.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) lifted the moratorium Monday [April 24] after EnCana filed a request to be allowed to drill there.

In 2004, EnCana was fined a record $371,000 for a faulty well that leaked gas into West Divide Creek. The seep was found to contain a carcinogenic chemical - benzene - within the gas leaking from a natural geologic fault that intersected the production area on an EnCana well.

Benzene continues to occur in the seep itself. EnCana continues to treat contaminated groundwater around the seep.

The COGCC imposed new cementing rules throughout the Mamm Creek area to ensure wells are properly sealed to prevent gas from rising up the well bore.

Last summer the COGCC allowed Bill Barrett Corp. to drill up to 20 wells within the moratorium area.

In lifting the moratorium, the COGCC also established an area three-and-three-quarter-miles long by one-mile wide extending from the seep in a northwesterly direction where operators will have to take special precautions.

“The (COGCC) staff determined (part) of East Mamm Creek … very likely has a subsurface fault trend through that area,” said COGCC director Brian Macke. “The staff recommended allowing drilling to go on but have added drill requirements” in the fault area.

A hydrogeological study commissioned by the Garfield County Commissioners last year revealed that the area around the Divide and Dry Hollow creeks have numerous natural and deep-seated faults that could present a challenge to operators to keep the gas within its intended pathways …

For Silt, this is the worst news. Yeah, the gas well fires are dangerous. But so far they’ve been able to put them out. And the drilling in the Project Rulison nuclear blast site is pretty scary (read Pandora’s Radioactive Box). But there’s no evidence of any release of radioactivity.

Yet.

Except for that white Halliburton panel truck with the word RADIOACTIVE printed on the side that we saw last week …

With the West Divide Creek seep, we have the evidence. Proof. Testing. A study.

The hydrogeological study showed that because of the geology in the West Divide Creek area, water from contaminated wells flows into West Divide Creek, which flows into Divide Creek, which flows into the Colorado River – less than a quarter mile east and upriver of Silt’s water treatment plant. This is not “may happen” or “might happen”. This was happening. This is happening. And STILL the moratorium was lifted. Therefore it will continue to happen.

Hell, the Dietrich’s well was so contaminated, Encana bought the property. But I’m sure they did that so they could do a super-duper clean-up and we don’t have to worry about that messy ol Dietrich well leeching into West Divide Creek anymore. 

Yeah. Right.

Click here to add From the Styx to your RSS reader.

Health concerns arise in well fire
Bobby Magill

RIFLE - Flames reportedly shot 200 feet above an EnCana natural gas well pad Monday night on Hunter Mesa after a fire broke out at a condensate tank and pit, causing concern among some area residents that the black smoke from the fire may have been toxic.Nearby Grass Mesa residents looked on as Rifle firefighters spent hours working to extinguish the blaze, the cause of which EnCana spokesman Doug Hock said is under investigation …

… Grass Mesa resident Garland Anderson said he saw the smoke Monday night, but wasn’t aware of what was actually happening.

“It appears to me, just from the experience we’ve had so far in our valley with the gas and oil people and the well pads and all this stuff, that the potential for a fire and explosion and injury … and damage to property is really escalated, and I think it’s going to escalate even more,” said Anderson, who lives on the eastern edge of Grass Mesa, not far from Hunter Mesa.

He said he’s unsure if the area has enough hazardous materials experts to provide adequate protection from gas well fires and other accidents.

“If they (gas companies) come in and create those kind of potential situations … they should be the first on line to provide hazmat protection and so forth,” Anderson said. “I don’t think they’ve done anywhere near enough. The burden is still on taxpayers to clean up their messes.”

My daughter, Ema Kwiatkowski is a Burning Mountains volunteer firefighter. I asked her about the fire, and whether the Rifle Fire Department has Haz-mat suits. Here’s her reply:

“You could see it from our house. Rifle doesn’t have Haz-mat suits, but they were all on air tanks at the fire. As much as you think it’d be oh so horrible, the gunk that was burning off was probably less toxic than a general house fire, just because there would not have been much burning plastics. THAT’s where the lung damaging, cancer causing smoke and particulates are. Most of the chemicals in drilling, as toxic as they are in water and elsewhere, do burn off quickly and kinda harmlessly. I’m surprised that Rifle was called though. They never call BMFD when they are in our district. The pad must have been REALLY close to residences.”

Therein lies the danger of putting these rigs so close to subdivisions and ranches. They do start on fire. This isn’t the first fire. I think it’s the 3rd fire this year – that we know about. I don’t know how many there were last year. Maybe 6. Maybe a dozen. We don’t always know about the gas well fires. If nobody sees it, it didn’t happen.

Click here to add From the Styx to your RSS reader.

Turnout small at Silt name change discussion
One resident speaks in favor of a new moniker
By Heidi Rice

SILT — Only a handful of residents turned out for a discussion on the proposed name change for the town of Silt at Monday’s night’s regular town board meeting — one in favor and the rest opposed to the idea.Mayor Dave Moore started off the meeting explaining that the decision to change the town’s name would have to come from the people — not the town board or the staff.“We cannot and do not participate in the changing of the name of Silt,” Moore said. “This has to be done by a grassroots effort by the people.”

Town Administrator Rick Aluise explained that any change would have to come from a petition signed by 50 percent of the registered voters who voted in the last mayoral election, which would then be submitted to the board. From there, it could be put on the ballot for the November general election …

I disagree with the title, but otherwise the article is fairly accurate. About 25-30 people showed up for the meeting. Tod said he’d never seen so many people at a board meeting. About half of the people were there to talk about the Silt name change and half came for a public hearing on irrigation, but they were happy to talk about the Silt name change. Therefore the turnout was pretty good. But it doesn’t matter. Plenty of people called, wrote letters, and talked to board members and staff in person. And the reaction was overwhelming against changing the name.

Mayor Moore began the discussion on a light note by reading the goofy names of other towns: Boring Maryland, Mud Lick Kentucky, Sod West Virginia, It Mississippi, Why Tennessee, Toad Suck Arkansas, Ding Dong, Texas.

“Maybe Silt isn’t so bad after all,” he said.

Dan Young did make the comment, “We’re finally getting some press. Maybe we should bring this up every couple years.” But he also said, “We have a lot more important issues to deal with.” Everyone applauded.

As the article says, Joyce Esgar was the only one who spoke for the name change. She lives outside the city limits but her address is Silt. “I think Silt is a degrading name,” she said. “For this beautiful country, Silt just doesn’t do it justice. When I tell people I live in Silt, they say ‘Silt? Like dirt?’”

Even though her comments made several people angry, some tried to educate her about the importance of the town’s history, and the name is part of that history. And that means something to the people who live here. I have no clue if we changed her mind. But she definitely knows what a big deal it is.

I had to leave before the public hearing on irrigation. My neighbor Eva was pretty upset about Mrs. Esgar’s comments and then she got mad at the news reporter, so I ushered her out of there and on her way home. She called me later, still upset. So we talked awhile. Eva has lived in Silt since she was 2 years old. She just turned 75 on Saturday. Most people don’t understand what an affront the notion of a Silt name change is to our lifelong residents. Eva was utterly insulted.

Anyway, Tod told me later that the public hearing on irrigation went well. People spoke up to say that raising irrigation rates because a few people are watering too much is like punishing everyone. They wanted to know who pays for watering the boulevards. Some said now that they know irrigation rates are going up, they would like more time to turn part of their yards into xeroscape, or rock, or look into other ways of cutting down on the space they irrigate. They changed Tod’s mind. He was adamant about the need to raise irrigation rates. However now he feels more effort is needed to educate residents about the need to conserve irrigation water, and better enforcement of irrigation rules. He also thinks they need to give people more time to cut down on the irrigable yard space.

Perhaps the best thing about Monday night’s meeting was the people spoke up and the board listened.

Click here to add From the Styx to your RSS reader.

In my March 3 blog entry Back to the Future, I included Laura Amos’s story. The Amos/Walker well was contaminated from gas well drilling on their property. Laura developed a rare adrenal gland tumor, which was removed along with her adrenal gland. Her story is also featured in Rebecca Clarren’s Salon.com article, EPA to citizens: Frack you. (BTW, my Letter to the Editor made *Editor’s Choice.)

On March 20, at a meeting in Glenwood Springs, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (aka COGCC or OGCC or The Fox), Encana was fined $99,400 for contaminating the Amos’s well south of Silt. They were also fined $77,400 for contaminating the Dietrich well in the same area. Encana bought the Dietrich property in June 2004. I wonder what they’re hiding.

Here’s the article:

EnCana fined for contaminating water wells
Company to pay COGCC $176,800
by Donna Gray

One of the largest producers of natural gas in Garfield County, EnCana, has been fined by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for contaminating two domestic water wells south of Silt.

At a meeting in Glenwood Springs Monday, the COGCC fined EnCana $77,400 and $99,400 respectively for contamination of the Dietrich and Amos/Walker wells with gas from its nearby natural gas wells.

EnCana was fined $371,000 in August 2004 for causing a natural-gas seep in and around West Divide Creek south of Silt.

COGCC received a complaint on April 30, 2001, from Harland Walker, co-owner of the Amos/Walker well, who said the well was contaminated by gas from EnCana wells on the nearby G33 pad.

On May 1, 2001, COGCC received a complaint from Larry Amos saying his well cap had blown off and that gray fizzy water gushed from the well.

Amos’ wife Laura contended that fracturing fluid from the EnCana wells, which were drilled in 2001 by Ballard Petroleum, caused her to develop a rare adrenal gland tumor in 2003.

COGCC tested the water in the Amos/Walker and Dietrich wells in 2003 and 2004 and found thermogenic or production gas was present. EnCana purchased the Dietrich property in June 2004, …

Of course Garfield County gets all that money. In the meantime, little to no money has been allocated from the county to the local municipalities to address the impacts of gas well drilling on infrastructure and services. And not because they haven’t asked.

What are the impacts of gas well drilling on Silt?

Increased heavy truck traffic has damaged roads in and around Silt. Traffic on our streets and rural roads has increased, and so have accidents. The Board of Trustees and Town Administrator asked Garfield County Commissioners for money for road maintenance. They were told there is no money.

An influx of gas well workers has filled up the Silt motel, and consumed all available rentals (driving up the cost of rent) and affordable houses ($225,000 or less). Silt has a couple restaurants, and a few businesses. Most of the gas well workers eat and shop in Rifle and New Castle. But they live in Silt, increasing our population and the stress on our police department and emergency services, such as ambulance and fire department, which is all volunteer. We can’t even afford to pay our firefighters.

Antero Resources Corporation does drill inside Silt city limits, therefore the town has some income from that lease. However it nowhere near covers the costs to the town. Besides it’s not just Antero trucks and Antero workers that impact our infrastructure and services. It’s Encana, Halliburton, Calfrac, etc.

Gas companies pay a severance tax, which is collected by the state. But those monies have become a political slush fun, most of which goes to fun projects on the east slope – Denver region – but not in western Colorado where gas well drilling has the greatest impact. The issue of severance tax distribution is currently in dispute. So there is money, it’s just not flowing in a westerly direction – cuz of politics.

Gee. Imagine that.

Click here to add From the Styx to your RSS reader.

Let’s call the whole thing off.

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Today Salon.com posted an excellent article about gas well drilling in and around Silt, complete with a photo of a gas well rig right next to a house. Check it out:

EPA to citizens: Frack you
In the Rockies, a gas-extraction process called “fracking” may be releasing a carcinogenic stew of chemicals. Dozens of people say it has made them seriously ill, but the EPA refuses to investigate — a failure one of its own engineers calls “irrational and corrupt.”
By Rebecca Clarren

May 5, 2006 | SILT, Colo. — The 20 miles of interstate highway between rural Silt and Parachute, Colo., slice a crusty landscape where sagebrush clings to ochre mesas. Nearby, the snakelike silver Colorado River carves a valley floor where poplar trees, naked in the winter cold, cast spindly blue shadows across the snow. There are few exits through this section of Garfield County, where the local population of deer and elk rival the number of ranchers, retirees and others who live here.

Susan Haire, a former elementary teacher who ranches on a small scale, has lived atop one of the surrounding mesas for nearly a decade. But she says the landscape has been turned against her. When she drives down this stretch of highway, her nose bleeds, her eyes burn, and her head pounds. She’s taken to wearing a respirator, even in the car.

“I feel like an alien, like I don’t fit into my own environment. It’s frightening,” says Haire, 55, tears filling her pale slate eyes as she looks through her living room window out on her back fields. “It’s horrifying what’s happening here. The changes that have happened in the past 18 months are so dramatic. It’s just a nightmare.”

Haire’s doctor blames her health problems on the scenery’s relatively recent addition: 600 natural gas wells, drilled by oil companies over the past two years. Every few feet, 150-foot-tall drill rigs, graced with American flags, rise upward into the sky. Compressor stations, banks of rectangular huts with five-foot-diameter fans, sit back from the road and pump the gas into underground pipelines …

When I moved here in 1996, the impacts of gas well drilling were monitored regularly. Wells were spaced 40 acres apart, and not near residences, water wells, creeks, and watersheds. In 1997, the Rocky Mountain Institute studied the impacts and found that, if continued at the pace back in those days and monitored regularly, gas well drilling could co-exist with the local residents and environment.

Along came the Bush administration and Halliburton and in 2001, gas well drilling mushroomed like an atomic bomb on Garfield County, and has grown exponentially ever since to the obscene levels outlined in Claren’s article. Forty acre restrictions were reduced to 10 acres. Not only are the gas wells located on or near residences, wells, creeks, and watersheds, but they are also located on the banks of the Colorado River. Because of that, this is no longer a “local” issue. Any contaminants from those wells are flowing downstream and into thousands of water supplies for millions of people in the southwest.

My point is, all the studies that have been conducted about the impacts of gas well drilling were done before the current astronomical rate of development. No new studies have been done since. Nobody knows the impacts of the current accelerated pace of gas well drilling because this level of saturation has never before been reached. So what’s the harm in studying that?

When I started this blog back in February and dedicated it to Silt, I was worried about the impacts of gas well drilling on our water and air quality and what it all means to the future of Silt – and everyone in and around it. I’ve been worried for the past 5 years. Now I’m scared. But the strange confluence of issues – gas well drilling impacts and changing the name of Silt – rising to the surface these past few weeks has helped me realize something. As yesterday’s Post Independent article stated, local people from all over the valley stood up and defended the good name of Silt. During the past couple weeks, most of the folks who talked to Tod and me about the Silt name change then added that local governments should be addressing the impacts of gas well drilling. People are awake. They are paying attention. We have been battling the gas well companies for the past 5 years, and we will continue to fight into the future.

Click here to add From the Styx to your RSS reader.

Looks like today is Update Day.

So, um, the folks are pretty much pissed off at the notion of a Silt name change. I’m just giddy about it. This article appeared in today’s paper:

What’s in a name? A lot, say Silt locals
by Heidi Rice

SILT - Don’t change the name.

That’s the overwhelming reaction town officials are getting to a proposal to change the name of the town of Silt to something else.

“There’s a lot of negative outcry against it,” said town administrator Rick Aluise. “I’d say it’s 10-1 against the name change, at least.”

Aluise said Town Hall has been inundated with calls regarding the name change - and not just from town residents.

“They’re even calling from outside of town from Rifle and New Castle and around the county expressing outrage,” Aluise said.

And that’s not including the media coverage from newspapers, radio stations and TV from Denver to Grand Junction, and even USA Today.

The subject was brought up at the town’s last board meeting on April 24 by Trustee Doug Williams. Williams said he’d heard from constituents who didn’t like the town’s name and the reference to “dirt”.

The Post Independent has received several messages and letters from citizens around the county, mostly against a name change.

“The residents of Silt should be proud of their name,” wrote Sue Gray, of Carbondale. “What’s wrong with dirt? Where would we be without it?” …

… The proposed name change is on the agenda as a discussion item for the Monday regular Town Board meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at Silt Town Hall, 231 N. Seventh St. No action is expected to be taken.

Teehee. I’m going to the meeting. I can’t wait. It’s going to be so much fun! I just knew that changing the name of Silt would blow people’s minds. I love it when I’m right.

I checked out USA Today, and there was a blurb in the Colorado State News. Not that big of a deal. More like News of Weird. I also found blurbs at TV station websites, KJCT8 – Grand Junction, and Denver’s Channel 7. Too funny.

Maybe I should bring along a couple cases of beer to the meeting so we can all celebrate Silt … hmm … nah, probly not … might cause a riot. Anyway, it’s a lot of fun to win the war before we even get to the battle.

Click here to add From the Styx to your RSS reader.